


Rose

by Rasallon



Series: The Timeless War [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (TV Movie 1996), Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures - Various Authors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27657526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rasallon/pseuds/Rasallon
Summary: The Time War never ended. The Time Lords have oppressed or destroyed all other species who could threaten them. Under the tyrant rule of the Time Lord’s, Rose Tyler meets the mysterious Doctor, the face of the occupation of Earth, and begins the trip of a lifetime.
Series: The Timeless War [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022316
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is based upon a concept created by wintermoth on Tumblr. Here is the link to the original post ihttps://redriotted.tumblr.com/post/80525089979

The bus rumbled through the streets of London. It was late, allowing a rare traffic-free transit through the capital. Screens glared down over the city, portraying Guards smiling benevolently down on passers-by. The words ‘Your World. Our Protection’ was written in clear black text along the bottom. Another screen portrayed a man in a large Time Lord collar, also smiling, with a message of `Your World? It is defended.`

Pedestrians walked with their heads lowered, avoiding the gaze of Guards on the street, who looked a lot less friendly than their propaganda colleague. The bus drew to a stop outside a department store. Rose Tyler stepped off and hurried across into the shop. 

Rose hated the night shift. She never understood why the shop now had a twenty-four-hour policy. When she asked her manager, she’d been brushed off with a comment about “newfangled Governmental Law”. Rose yawned heavily and drew her hoodie around herself. She wanted nothing more than to be in bed. 

The night was as ever, uneventful. She put what few items she could out on already heaving shelves. Often giving the clothing a scowl, knowing she could never afford it. She briefly considered poking a small hole in a particularly nice top, so she could claim it as damaged stock. However, the last staff member to do that ended up out the door before you could say ‘all hail the Time Lords’ so, with a sigh, she placed it neatly on the rack. 

It was about 4am, when mid-yawn, Rose became aware of raised voices near the entrance. Rose sighed, assuming some drunk had broken curfew and security were in the process of escorting them off the premises. When the commotion hadn't stopped after about ten minutes, she warily made her way to the doors.

Two Guards were gesturing angrily at the shop’s security guard. She recognised him: Tom, they had spoken from time to time. She’d even snuck him a tea from the staff room during cold pre-morning graveyard shifts. She’d even fancied him a bit before she’d started dating Mickey. As she got closer she could hear more of the discussion.

`Sir, you are obstructing Guard business. If you obstruct us you are disobeying Lord Rassilon herself!` the taller of the Guards shouted. The other stood just behind, his hand casually resting on the staser pistol on his belt.

‘I understand that. But it’s against company policy to reveal information about employees,` Tom said. `You`ll have to come back tomorrow morning and speak to the Store Manager.` He folded his arms and settled in for a stare down. 

The lead Guard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. `We just need to know the whereabouts of Rose Tyler,` he said.

Rose’s eyes widened and she stepped back, hiding behind a rack of discounted tops. What did the Guard want with her? She peeked around again, torn between an urge to run and the need to know what the hell was going on.

`Ms Tyler is a person of interest in a case of the highest importance. Rassilon ordered this herself. We cannot, we will not take no for an answer,` the taller Guard said. By this point, the other had drawn his weapon and Tom was twitching, always keeping an eye on the gun. 

`Lord Rassilon doesn’t pay my bills, so I will have to ask you to leave,’ Tom’s voice wavered, but he remained firm.

Rose stepped back and yelped as she bumped into a plastic dummy standing on a small plinth behind her. The model wobbled, then toppled. With a crash it hit the floor, throwing its various appendages across the shop. The Guards turned, and the one with the drawn staser crossed over to Rose’s hiding spot. 

The way she saw it, she had two options. Run, and risk being gunned down by a trigger happy Guard, or try to cover her face and pretend she was just a clumsy shop worker. Neither plan seemed likely to end well for her. Certainly hadn’t worked well for her dad.

`Hold on a second!’ Tom shouted.

`Oh, do shut up!’ the tall Guard said, and Rose heard a heavy smack, and Tom’s pained grunt. Rose grabbed one of the dummy’s discarded legs and hid behind the clothes rack. Option 3, fight. She waited, the Guard’s weapon became visible from around the rack, then his arms. Rose raised the leg and brought it down on the Guard’s wrists. He cried out and his staser clattered to the floor. Rose broke out into a sprint, running as fast as she could from the Guards. She heard the sound of a staser firing in the distance, and a heavy, rather final, thump. 

Rose kept running, trying not to think of Tom and the fate that most likely just befell him. She heard cries of `halt’ from behind her, but she kept running. She weaved through racks of clothes, doing her best to confuse her pursuers. She had to get out, to get away from this nightmare. To make sense of what the hell was happening. 

She caught a glimpse of the green box above the fire door. Hope blossomed within her and she piled on the speed, running headlong for the door. A staser blast set clothes to her left ablaze and she cried out but didn’t slow.

Rose collided with the door, awkwardly catching her wrist and wincing. She pushed the metal handle down and flung herself into the alley beside the shop. The alarm wailed and Rose winced, realising her mistake. She looked around the alleyway, panting, frantic. The exit of the alleyway was blocked, the Guard’s bloodymobiles perched perfectly in her path. The other way led deeper down the alley. With no other choice, she tore off into the darkness. 

Rose ran and heard angry voices behind her. The alley turned left and Rose ran around the corner. Dead end. Rose felt panic building up inside her, and she fought to keep herself under control. She heard the footsteps of the Guards and she slowly turned to face them. Determined to face whatever happened with dignity, and more than a little defiance.

The Guards rounded the corner and filled up the narrow alley, weapons raised.

‘Ms Tyler, I presume?’ The taller Guard purred, his gun lowering a fraction. Rose couldn’t see much in the meagre light, but she could see the smug grin spreading across his face. 

‘You’re coming with us,’ the second Guard said. The first looked annoyed for a moment, but then the wall exploded outwards. Bricks and mortar showered everyone and knocked the two Guards to the floor. 

Rose saw someone step out of the shattered wall, and stride over to her. He grabbed her hand and said, ‘Run!’


	2. Chapter 2

Pain shot up Rose’s arm, but she followed along in the stranger’s wake. There was, after all, little for it given he’d blown up a wall. He dragged her toward the hole as the Guards groaned and tried to get to their feet. As they passed, the man kicked one of the Guards, catching him in the face and knocking him out for the count. With a killer bruise too.

They passed through the hole, into what looked like a dark shop. In the opposite corner of the room, Rose could make out the shape of a large blue box. Something about it struck her as familiar. 

The man guided her toward the box, thrust open the doors and bundled Rose inside. She gasped as she saw the sheer scale of the cavernous chamber. The man rushed past her toward a wooden central column surrounded by metal struts. He pulled a lever on the console and the doors behind Rose slammed shut.

She turned to see the two huge metal doors and pulled at them. They didn’t budge. She had heard stories of the bigger on the inside machines. She’d been ‘rescued’ by a Time Lord. 

Realising she had no hope of opening the doors, she stormed across to the console, and to the man working at the controls. ‘Let me out!’ she spat. The man didn’t even look up.

‘If I let you out, the Guards will arrest you and your life will be over,’ he explained, sounding distracted.

‘Oh, yeah?’ she retorted. ‘And being stuck with a Time Lord is better?’ 

The man looked up at her sadly. He appeared stung as if forgetting for a moment who and what he was. Now Rose thought about it, he looked familiar. 

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. Then resumed his work. He pulled a lever and the whole ship began to shake. With a deep groaning roar, the blue central column rose and fell.

Rose stepped back, looking around. The room was decorated with an array of comfortable looking furniture. The place looked more like a home than the flight deck of an advanced alien spaceship. 

She watched the man at the console. He had dark hair, cut short but with curls almost desperately trying to make their presence known. He wore a simple blue jacket, with a pristine white shirt beneath and a black waistcoat. 

‘Who are you?’ Rose asked. The man turned to her, momentarily forgetting the controls. He smiled, a soft, fragile thing. There was something so familiar about that smile.

‘The Doctor,’ he said, as if to himself. 

Rose understood. The kind smile, the blue box. He was the face of the Time Lord’s occupation of Earth. 

‘You look different to your photos,’ Rose said. The Doctor frowned and looked in a mirror, one of the many items dotted around the centre platform. 

‘Yes, I suppose I do,’ he chuckled to himself then went back to the controls. The TARDIS, at least Rose thought that was its name, swayed beneath her feet. She could  _ feel _ the gentle hum of the ship’s engines around her, through the floor. It felt safe. She hadn’t realised it, but when was the last time she truly felt safe? Years ago? Childhood? Always keeping an eye out for trouble. Always watched over by the Time Lord government. 

‘Why did those Guards want me?’ Rose asked. The Doctor made a final motion at the console then turned to her. 

‘Because you’re special,’ he said simply. Rose laughed, and the Doctor frowned. 

‘Oh, come on,’ she began. ‘I’m not special. I work in a shop. I go to work, eat chips, watch telly and go to bed. Me and half of London.` 

The Doctor looked at her. ‘But you are. An ordinary life? There’s nothing more special,’ he said.

‘Ordinary? Well yeah, of course! With you lot looking down on us all the time. Reminding us we aren’t good enough?’ she exclaimed angrily, her hand itching to give him the good old Tyler slap.

The Doctor shook his head. ‘They aren’t my lot.’ Rose bristled.

‘You are a Time Lord, aren’t you?’ she demanded. 

The Doctor looked down. ‘Not by choice.’

Rose could have laughed. So she did. ‘So they forced you to plaster your face across every video screen in the world? Forced you to be the friendly face of their domination?’ she said, deriding the increasingly distraught looking “ _ Doctor _ ”. 

‘You don’t understand!’ he roared suddenly, taking a step forward, his blue eyes burning with anger. ‘I did what I had to! What I must! To protect you! To protect…’ he trailed off. His fury fading as quickly as it arrived. He slunk back to the console. 

Rose watched him for a moment. He didn’t look like a typical Time Lord. He seemed almost, well,  _ broken _ . She’d never heard of one getting distressed, let alone wanting to protect anything - except maybe their own interests.

In the awkward silence that followed she looked around and picked up a picture frame from a table. Her wrist twinged and she dropped it. 

The glass shattered as the picture hit the floor and the Doctor crossed to her. He gently grasped her wrist and examined it, pulling something from his pocket. The tip glowed red and he ran it along her wrist, before letting her go and crossing back to the console.

‘What did you do?’ she asked, rotating her wrist.

‘I used the sonic to soothe the pain a little. But you`ll need to get it looked at by a professional,’ he said. 

‘I thought you were the Doctor,’ Rose said with a smirk. He looked at her and smiled that sad smile.

‘I used to be,’ he said. The churning of the TARDIS grew louder for a moment and then the swaying ceased, the ship falling silent. Without another word, the Doctor flicked a switch and opened the door. 

‘Go,’ he said. 

‘But what about the Guard?’ she asked. 

‘Let me deal with them. Just stay away from your flat for a few days,’ the Doctor said. He crossed to her and placed a credit strip in the palm of her hand.

‘Unlimited,’ he said. ‘Find yourself a place to stay, and lay low. Don’t call anyone. I’ll be back.’

Rose opened her mouth to protest but found herself being firmly guided towards the doors. She stepped out into the cool light of day and was dazzled by the sudden shift. She turned to step back into the ship but found the doors slammed in her face. 

The ship’s engines roared into life and Rose stepped back as the blue box faded away. 

The Doctor was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose sat in a hotel room and tried her best to wrap her head around the last few hours. When she’d left the TARDIS she’d been confused, thinking it must have been a lot longer journey than she’d thought. When she entered it had been the middle of the night, she knew that. Now the sun shone brightly over a busy midday London. Then she remembered: Time Lord. Looks like it wasn’t entirely pomposity after all.

She took out her phone and looked at the little screen. She was tempted to call her mum but remembered the Doctor’s warning.

She left her phone on the table.

Rose had put the credit bar in her pocket, and absently toyed with it. She had heard from her mum, who had heard from her mum, that they used to use paper notes and coins as currency. Rose pulled the bar out and smiled at the memory of her Gran. 

She’d entered a small clothes shop.Moving quickly she’d grabbed a hoodie, a baseball cap, some hair ties and some oversized sunglasses. As she paid she looked around nervously, expecting the Guard to come storming in, or the credit bar to be declined. But everything passed smoothly and Rose felt a genuine smile bubble up as she thanked the cashier and took her things.

She’d tied up her hair and hid it beneath the cap, then put the sunglasses on and found the nearest hotel. She had considered going for an upmarket one, a chance for luxury during this madness but decided against it. The Guard would be all over a place like that, not looking for her but keeping out all the undesirables. 

So, Rose had resigned herself to the budget hotel she now collapsed in. She was so tired. Her wrist began to sting and she cursed herself for not picking up any painkillers. 

She cradled her wrist and thought of the Doctor. That strange, rather curious man. In another world…

She cut off that thought as a yawn forced its way out of her. With a sigh, she undressed and curled up in the bed, wanting nothing more than her own bed.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

She awoke a few hours later, showered and got dressed, now pulling the hoodie over her. She left the hotel, making certain the credit bar was still in her pocket and set off.

She realised she needed help. Whilst Rose wasn’t stupid, she also wasn’t an expert of hiding from the law. Okay, there was that time with Jimmy Stone, but other than that, Rose had never been on the wrong side of the law. 

Her first thought was to track down the Doctor. 

She went to an Internet cafe and booted up the ridiculously old computer. She rubbed her face, it was going to be a long day. The Time Lords had brought so many advances in technology but didn’t feel the need to share most of it with humanity. 

A search for the Doctor only gave her the same propaganda which covered every empty space. Though she noticed in some he looked noticeably different. She refined her search to ‘Doctor Blue Box’ and after scrolling through pages and pages only found snippets. Some mentioned a military organisation called UNIT back in the ’70s and a description of a wild-haired dandy also referred to as the Doctor. 

There was a mention of a Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Searching that name only dragged up warrants from the Time Lord government, asking for information that could lead to his arrest. 

Rose kept researching for hours, finding reams of information. She left the cafe with hundreds of papers, and a few irritated glances from the owner annoyed that she would have to replace the toner in the printer.

She returned to the hotel and upon stepping into her room, almost dropped her findings. Standing in the centre of the room was a man in a blue military overcoat, who looked her up and down as she closed the door. 

Determined to not appear surprised, she spoke. ‘Not every day I find a handsome gentleman waiting for me in my hotel room,’ she remarked. 

‘Really?’ the man asked. His accent was strange. ‘Seems to happen to me every other Thursday.’ He extended a hand to her. Rose reluctantly took it with her good hand.

‘Captain Jack Harkness,’ he said, shaking her hand then letting go with a moue of disappointment.

‘Rose Tyler,’ Rose replied, carefully setting her papers down on the table, angled away from the stranger.

‘Yes, you are,’ Jack murmured, then smirked.

‘So, tell me, Captain, are you here to kidnap me? Or kill me?’ Rose inquired, doing her best to keep her voice level. Jack looked startled. ‘Because I’d like it not to be a surprise this time.’

‘Kill you? God no. Kidnap you? Well, I’m into role play as much as the next guy, but we don’t have time right now,’ he grinned, and despite herself, Rose grinned back.

‘So, what then?’ she asked. 

Jack straightened up. ‘I’m here on behalf of Torchwood. And you, Rose Tyler, are very important.'


	4. Chapter 4

Rose and Jack sat, Rose cross-legged on the bed and Jack in a chair, his coat draped over the back. Rose had heard of Torchwood, everyone had. The resistance against the Time Lords. But no-one cared. If Torchwood did exist, fighting the Time Lords was their problem, and not one they were doing terribly well with.

‘So, what does Torchwood want with me? And how did you find me?` Rose asked.

‘To answer your second question. Unlimited credit bars aren’t found much outside of the elite or hackers with a death wish. And we had intel from our contact within the Time Lord government,’ Jack explained. Rose’s ears pricked at that.

‘Contact?’ she asked. Were there more Time Lords willing to work against their own people?

‘Goes by the name Zagreus. A bit flowery if you are well versed in Time Lord myths,’ Jack said. Rose thought for a moment, she’d heard or read it somewhere but couldn’t think where. She idly flipped pages, skimming for any capital Z’s.

‘So why are you telling me all this, Captain?’ Rose asked, quirking an eyebrow. Jack smirked then leaned forward.

‘Because the way I see it, you’ve got two choices,’ he whispered.

‘Which are?'

‘Option One. You keep hiding out in hotels until the Time Lords get desperate and find you. Which they will,’ Jack’s voice was low, tinged with menace. And experience. 

‘Option Two. You join Torchwood. Help us fight the Time Lords, and we will protect you,’ he concluded. 

Rose burst out laughing, and Jack frowned, moving back in his seat.

‘Fight the Time Lords?’ Rose said between fits of hysterical laughter. Eventually, she calmed down and gave Jack a tired blink, putting her chin in her good hand. ‘I’m just an estate girl who works in a shop. I can’t fight the Time Lords,’ she said, looking down at her notes with disdain. 

‘But you aren’t!’ Jack declared, straightening. ‘And even if you were. That’s exactly why you should fight! The ordinary girl off the estate sticking it to the man!’

Rose smiled, it was hard not to be swept up in his enthusiasm. She knew he was right. The Time Lords would find her, sooner rather than later. She wondered about the Doctor, he’d tried to help her too, but she wasn’t about to rely on a man she’d met once. And a Time Lord at that.

‘Alright, Captain. You’re on,’ Rose said. Jack's smile was warm as he held a hand out to her.

‘Oh, and one last thing, call me Jack,’ he said, winking.

Rose had to admit, she was a little surprised when Jack told her their destination.

‘Cardiff?’ she asked, gathering her paperwork into a bag. 

‘I know, not my first choice but Cardiff is directly beneath a space-time rift,’ Jack explained, as if that meant anything. Rose shrugged, making a mental note to ask when she was not being yanked down a hotel corridor by a man with the attitude of an overexcited Labrador.

Rose roughly fixed her make do and mend disguise, as she and Jack moved through the hotel. The lobby was empty. Rose dropped her room key on the desk, no reason to make the hotel staff’s job harder than necessary. 

They emerged into the bright sunlight, where a black SUV was waiting. Jack opened the passenger door and bundled Rose in as he crossed to the driver's side. 

Cardiff, here I come, Rose thought to herself.

Throughout the journey, Jack explained about himself, Torchwood and even about the Time Lords. She found out that Jack was something called a Time Agent, and he’d fallen through the rift years ago. Since then he had helped guide what little resistance there was in a united front. 

‘The problem is,’ Jack explained, ‘is that the Time Lords have been here for decades. So by now, people like you were born under the thumb of the Time Lords. You've known no other life, so see no reason to fix what isn’t broken.’ 

Jack’s words chilled Rose to the bone. She knew that if she hadn’t been thrown into conflict with the Time Lords, she never would have done anything. She would have lived out her life, never wondering if there was a better way than the way of the Time Lords. 

The biggest enemy of humanity wasn’t the Time Lords. It was complacency. 

Rose’s thoughts drifted to her mum and Mickey. In the madness of the last few days, she didn’t have a chance to spare them a second thought.

‘My mum,’ Rose muttered. 

‘What was that?’ Jack asked.

‘My mum. We need to go back! She’ll be in danger,’ Rose said, feeling panic rise within her. Jack shook his head slightly.

‘No can do. We go back to London, we get caught,’ Jack said firmly. Rose glared at him.

‘So we just leave her? And all my friends!’ Rose asked, clutching the armrest.

‘Forget them, protect yourself,’ Jack said. 

‘How can you be so, so  _ uncaring _ !’ Rose cried. Jack looked at her out the corner of his eye but said nothing. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The rest of the journey was spent in uncomfortable silence, Rose’s stomach knotted with guilt. She couldn’t stop imagining countless scenarios of her mum being dragged out of her home and brutalised by the Guard. Using them as a way to get Rose back. 

Eventually, they reached the Cardiff city limits, and Rose attempted to distract herself by watching buildings slip by. They approached the bay, cruising along mostly empty roads. The bronze hump of the Millenium Centre rose above them as they drove, heading for a multi-story car park. 

At the entrance, Jack leaned out and tapped a card to a scanner attached to the barrier, and it lifted. He drove them further until they were sitting in an empty, dimly lit spot.

Rose went to open the passenger door, but Jack placed his hand on her shoulder. She paused. He let her go then leaned out his window again. On his side was a grey slab of wall. He produced the card again and part of the wall slid open, revealing a blank screen. It lit up as he placed the card on it. There was a small bleep and he withdrew into the car.

The car shook and Rose gaped as they began to descend. They kept lowering, disappearing beneath the streets of Cardiff. They came to rest in another parking garage, smaller than its above-ground counterpart. 

Jack got out of the car, and Rose followed. She looked around what she assumed was another, subterranean garage. There was another of the black SUVs parked up, though it looked far more battered than the sleek vehicle they arrived in. There was also a strange-looking vehicle that looked like a miniature spaceship. 

Jack strode off and Rose followed. They entered slightly claustrophobic corridors, which looked like they had been converted from sewers. Smelt like it too. 

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived in a much larger chamber. A silver tower dominated the centre of the room, and dotted around were computers, piles of books and what looked like random junk. 

Jack led them up a few stairs to the main platform, which Rose assumed must be the nerve centre of Torchwood. Someone cleared their throat. Both Rose and Jack turned to their left, to a bank of computers, and a comfortable looking office chair positioned before it. 

The chair spun and revealed a man sat in the chair, with an amused expression.

‘About time you got here,’ the Doctor said.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack pulled his gun and aimed it at the Doctor, who for his part looked almost bored.

‘How did you get in here?’ Jack demanded, his teeth clenched. 

‘Front door?’ the Doctor tried. 

‘Where’s my team?’ Jack asked. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

‘I think they popped out for pizza or Chinese,’ he replied. ‘Now are you just going to point that silly gun at me, or can we talk like adults?’ the Doctor asked. Jack’s jaw tensed but he holstered the gun.

‘So, when do the rest of Time Lord High Command burst through my doors?’ Jack crossed his arms and stepped closer to Rose. The Doctor stood up, moving slowly. 

‘Just me, I’m a friend, she can vouch for me,’ the Doctor said, nodding to Rose. Jack looked at her.

‘You know him?’ he asked. 

‘He saved me from the Guard, and gave me this,’ she said, showing him the unlimited credit bar. Jack’s eyes narrowed.

‘Still doesn’t explain how you got in.’ Jack said, returning his attention to the Doctor. The Time Lord grinned.

‘TARDIS of course,’ he said, sounding smug. 

Jack shook his head, ‘The Hub and everywhere within a ten-mile radius is TARDIS proofed,’ Jack said, sounding almost sulky.

‘And who do you think gave you that technology?’ The Doctor asked, and Jack blanched. 

‘You don’t mean,’ he began, but the Doctor cut him off.

‘Exactly. Who do you think protected your entire operation? Who do you think covers for all your little errors? And naturally who would be able to bypass all your defences to finally meet you face to face!’ The Doctor’s face turned serious and he threw his arms out wide. ‘I am Zagreus!’ He cried.

Rose blinked and Jack stood, open-mouthed, staring at the Doctor. 

  
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

  
A few moments past before anyone broke the dramatic but getting increasingly awkward, silence.

‘So uh, who’s Zagreus when he’s at home?’ Rose asked. The Doctor’s face fell as he lowered his arms.

‘Zagreus? Y’know from the fairytale? The rhyme?’ he tried as Rose shrugged. The Doctor made an exasperated noise.

`Zagreus sits inside your head,

Zagreus lives among the dead,

Zagreus sees you in your bed,

And eats you when you’re sleeping.’ The Doctor recited, resembling a teacher trying to coax a child to the right answer.

‘Doesn’t ring a bell. And the last bit doesn’t even rhyme! Some poem!’ Rose replied. The Doctor looked distraught.

‘So much for my grand reveal, what are they even teaching kids in schools these days?’ he muttered. 

‘You should know, you're the one feeding them lies,’ Jack retorted, perching on one of the computer desks.

‘I am not a liar!’ The Doctor barked, scowling at Jack. ‘I am simply, bending the truth a little. For their own sakes,’ he finished, looking down, the ferocity faded as quickly as it arrived. 

‘Who’s  _ them _ ? Us, or our Time Lord overlords?’ Jack asked. The Doctor opened his mouth to reply but could think of nothing. 

‘He can’t be all bad,’ Rose said. Jack looked surprised as if he had forgotten she was there for a moment. The Doctor looked at her, hope sparking in his eyes. 

‘He saved me, remember? If it wasn’t for him I’d be locked up.’ She pointedly didn’ mention the scarier things that might have happened. ‘And he helped you guys, didn’t he?’ she finished. The Doctor smiled softly. 

‘Actually, that’s a good point. Why did you help us?’ Jack asked, looking at the Doctor. The Time Lord straightened up a little.

‘Because this is not how things should be. The Time Lords have broken their most important rule. They interfered with the natural course of time,’ he explained. 

‘What do you mean? What’s happening now is, what, wrong?’ Rose asked. 

‘Exactly. Earth is supposed to expand throughout space. Meeting new races, colonising planets, all that fun stuff,’ the Doctor said. 

‘He’s not wrong,’ Jack spoke up and the Doctor’s eyebrow rose. 

‘I’m from the 51st Century,’ Jack began, glancing at Rose for her reaction. ‘An Earth colony. I was out working for the Time Agency when something happened. The whole world, the universe, seemed to crack and splintered around me. The next thing I know is waking up face down in Cardiff Bay of the 21st Century.’ He gestured to the brown strip of leather on his wrist and pulled open a panel to reveal a small control panel.

‘I tried to use my Vortex Manipulator to get back home, but when I plugged in the temporal coordinates, nothing.’ He finished then pointed an accusing finger at the Doctor. 

‘His people messed with history,’ he said and glared at the Time Lord. ‘And now my home planet’s gone.’ The Doctor met his gaze with indifference.

‘Yes, they did. And I want to fix it,’ he said.

‘Fix it how?’ Rose asked. The Doctor looked away from Jack. 

‘With you, Rose Tyler,’ he said. 

Rose blinked, then waved her hands in the negative. ‘Wait,’ she held up a finger. ‘One thing at a time. What would fixing this lead to?` She asked.

‘I aim to head back to the point the Time Lord’s interfered and stop them, return Earth to its original course,’ he explained.

‘And wipe out how many years of history in the process? And how many people are gonna die if you do that?’ Rose challenged. The Doctor blinked in surprise.

‘But a new world would take its place! A better one without the tyranny of the Time Lords. Freedom!’ He exclaimed.

‘And so the lives of everyone in this, as you would say, “wrong” timeline gets wiped from existence?’ Rose continued. ‘And you’re okay with that?’

‘Well, I never thought of it like that,’ the Doctor murmured. 

‘Of course, you didn’t. Typical Time Lord,’ Rose spat and turned away, stalking away from the Time Lord and the man from the future that never was.


	6. Chapter 6

Rose found herself in a room lined with what looked like prison cells, some kind of clear material was in the place of bars. The arrogance of that man, that Doctor. Who was he to determine that her whole life was wrong? How could her whole life be wrong? Her mum’s, Mickey’s? Even Tom the security guard’s. Was his death as pointless as his life? 

She heard a door open behind her and kept her back to it. She heard footsteps and the silence for a few moments.

`I’m sorry,’ the Doctor said, his voice heavy and hollow. 

‘Sorry?’ she echoed, not turning.

‘Yes. It was wrong of me to say what I did,’ he tried.

‘Wrong like my life? My very  _ existence _ ?’ Rose shouted and whirled, fixing him with a withering glare. The Doctor’s jaw worked, trying to figure out what to say.

‘You have to understand…’ he began.

‘No,  _ you _ have to understand!’ Rose said, jabbing a finger at him. ‘You don’t get to decide who’s life is right or wrong, who gets to exist. You don’t get to decide who’s life is right or wrong, who gets to exist. You don’t have that ri—’

‘I’ve lost all my friends,’ the Doctor said, his voice cracking.

Rose felt her anger fade as she looked at him. Truly looked at him. He was youthful, but his eyes were old. He had been around far longer than she could imagine, and would outlive her by centuries. She saw the pain, hidden behind the friendly, pantomime exterior. 

‘How?’ Rose asked, her voice quiet. The Doctor cleared his throat softly. 

‘When the Time Lords invaded in 1949, they undid everything I worked for,’ he said, his voice thin. ‘I first arrived on Earth in the ’60s. Over the years I would visit more and more, I would find friends and companions. Or they’d find me. But now…’ his voice cracked again.

‘Now my friends never existed, at least not how they should. They never met me. To them, I am just...propaganda. The symbol of everything that has oppressed them all their lives. I didn’t just lose my friends. Our friendships never happened,’ he finished and looked down and seemed to slump against the wall. As though this burden had been the only thing keeping him standing. 

Without realising it, Rose was hugging him. It was brief, only a few seconds before Rose stood back again. The Doctor stood up slightly straighter, a faint, barely perceptible smile on his face. 

‘Then…’ She took a breath and stood resolute. ‘Let's save your friends, Doctor,’ she said with a tongue-touched grin. The Doctor’s eyes twinkled and he took her hand. 

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

They ran through the corridors, finding themselves back in the central Hub. Rose noticed now that the Doctor’s ship was parked incongruously in the corner. Jack rounded the corner and frowned when he saw them. Saw them holdings hands. 

Rose stopped for a moment, as the Doctor hurried on, opening the doors to his TARDIS and disappearing inside, the door left ajar. 

‘And where’s he going?’ Jack asked, his arms folded.

‘To save the world,’ Rose said. Jack’s frown deepened.

‘Oh, like it’s that easy?’ He scoffed. ‘We’ve spent years working to undermine the Time Lord government and he can just undo it all overnight?’

‘Yes!’ came the Doctors reply from inside the TARDIS. `Ms Tyler are you coming or what?’ He called. Rose stepped closer to the box. Jack also stepped closer.

‘Are you sure you want to go anywhere, with him?’ he asked. The TARDIS made a deep booming thump and the light on top began to flash throwing the room into intermittent blue. 

‘What have I got to lose?’ Rose asked and dashed into the box, closing the door behind her.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Jack watched as the Doctor’s time machine faded away with an echo of wheezing engines. Within seconds all that was left was a faint impression on the stone floor. 

‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Rose Tyler,’ Jack said to the air.


	7. Chapter 7

Rose looked around the cavernous room. She remembered it from her last visit, so austere but with a hint of dilapidation. She was surrounded by the gentle rise and fall of the ship. Alien energy flowing around her, she could hear it like the buzzing of a dodgy lightbulb, but much more tuneful.

She shook out of her reverie and crossed to the console, where the Doctor was working furiously. An alert chimed on the console, and the Doctor pulled down an ancient-looking tv screen hanging from a thick wire attached to the struts around the console.

A face of a severe-looking man resolved on the screen.

‘Doctor!’ the man roared, his voice coming through clearly despite the low-quality image. 

‘General Kenossium!’ the Doctor said with a smile. ‘Not a fan of the new face. Too sensible,’ he added.

‘Where are you going? You know off-world travel without a permit is strictly forbidden,’ the General continued, his voice weary as if dealing with a petulant child. 

‘Yeah, but you know me, places to be, people to see,’ the Doctor said cheerily, continuing to work at the controls. 

‘Doctor, you haven’t left Earth in the past 40 years,’ the General said, then his voice dropped lower, ‘What are you up to?’

‘Something clever, my friend,’ the Doctor said, steel in his voice. 

The General cleared his throat. ‘Well as Commander of all military forces on Earth, I shall inform you that three battle TARDISes have been dispatched to intercept you. Turn back now, or they will shoot you down.’

Rose stepped forward.

‘Trouble?’ she asked.

‘Not at all,’ the Doctor murmured as the whole TARDIS suddenly lurched violently to the left. ‘Okay, maybe a little trouble.’ He looked at the screen. ‘Can’t you call them off?’

The General shook his head. ‘Whatever you’re planning, Doctor, I hope Rassilon doesn’t find out. Good luck,’ he said and the screen flickered and went black. Another lurch made Rose grab hold of a pillar. The Doctor growled as he flicked a lever and the rotor began to move faster, the pitch of the engines grew higher as the ship strained. 

‘C’mon old girl, show them what you’ve got,’ the Doctor said. The faint music in the air swelled louder so Rose could almost hear words, vocalisations, a song comforting her. As the deck lurched beneath her feet, Rose reached for the console to support herself. As she touched the polished wooden surface and felt something akin to an electrical shock run through her fingers and down her spine. 

The TARDIS roared as her engines picked up further speed.. The rotor moved even faster, now a blue blur inside its casing. The Doctor frowned and flicked the scanner onto an external image. 

Three cylindrical capsules resolved on the screen, instruments that Rose could only assume were weapons forming on their surfaces and blasting bolts of golden energy toward them.

Rose winced as one of the shots glanced off them, and felt a sharp pain in her arm. She gasped and let go of the console. Instantly the pain faded and she frowned. She touched the console again and felt the ship leap beneath her feet. 

On the screen, the battle TARDISes began to disappear as their TARDIS hurtled away. 

‘How is that possible?’ the Doctor murmured as a loud, clanging bell rang through the room. 

‘Um, Doctor, what’s that?’ Rose asked. 

‘The Cloister Bell,’ he glanced up and then looked at her. ‘Trouble,’ he grinned as the TARDIS lurched, crashing through time and space. On the screen, a planet resolved into view. Small, but getting bigger. Fast. 

‘I’d find something to hold on to if I were you,’ he cried, running around the console. ‘We’re going to crash!’


End file.
